Childhood and Migration: Interdisciplinary Conference 2008

Drexel University, Philadelphia PA

Investigators

Abstract

The Working Group on Childhood and Migration, which will hold its first international conference with NSF support in Philadelphia in summer 2008, is a group of researchers whose work is developing new approaches to examining children's experiences of migration, including children who are left behind, children who move back and forth, and children who permanently immigrate. The PIs are especially interested in informing how societies can better nurture children's capabilities, inclinations and needs, specifically as they are interrupted or altered by migration journeys. Conference attendees will include, but not be limited to, scholars in law, political science, sociology, anthropology, demography, psychology, education, economics, communication, public health, and others. The PI's will share current data, new theories, and innovative methodologies for the study of children's participation in migration processes. The conference will contribute to our understanding of childhood and migration in the following ways. At the broadest level the PIs will generate and consolidate much needed knowledge on the numbers and types of children affected by new global migration routes, as well as comparing these cohorts across regions and nations that receive immigrants and refugees, especially the United States and Western Europe. The majority of the conference will be devoted to outlining significant areas of research in the emerging paradigm of childhood and migration by collecting important data on 1) developmental perspectives (are children's development and maturation processes significantly affected by migration experiences, and if so, how deleterious or beneficial is migration for them? What are children's perspectives on migration? What are the emotional consequences of family separation across migratory families, especially for children?); 2) Citizenship and rights (how are children's rights and the notion of children as citizens affected by changes in world economy, and by movement of parents and children in and out of various national legal systems? How do children experience refugeeship, and how do they fare when seeking asylum alone or in families? How do some children outlive or escape experiences of international human trafficking?), 3) Theories of childhood. (How is migration shaping any given cultural or social group's notions of childhood, and how are cultural notions of childhood shaping migration?) 4) Economy. (What choices do families moving for economic and political reasons have, and how do those choices affect family and children's quality of life at home and abroad? How does the increase in migration worldwide affect children as laborers?), and 5) Media. (How do media and policy makers represent or overlook children in migration situations? And how does our perception of entities like ?immigrants,? ?the third world? or specific culture groups i.e., ?Mexicans? or ?Chinese,? affect how people make laws and practices that impact children in migrating families?).